Vivien Leigh’s retreat and final resting place for sale for £3.25 million
Actress Vivien Leigh bought Grade II listed Tickerage Mill at Blackboys in East Sussex on divorcing Laurence Olivier in 1961 for £20,000 (the equivalent of £398,000 or $628,000 or €560,000 today) and after her death from tuberculosis, her ashes were scattered on the millpond there in 1967. The property is now for sale along with a cottage, a mill building and 70.6 acres of land.
Purchased by advertising executive Ken Hoggins and his wife Honor for £2.17 million ($3.4 million, €3.1 million) in 2004 and subsequently renovated and remodeled, Tickerage Mill dates to the 17th century and includes a main house with 4,133 square foot of accommodation and five bedrooms. A 474 square foot, single-storey annexe cottage is currently used as an artist’s studio whilst a 1,218 square foot 2-bedroomed cottage also stands within the grounds.
Leigh used the house to entertain amongst others Princess Margaret, Sir John Gielgud and Winston Churchill and of her relationship with it, a friend, Radie Harris, once commented:
“Vivien fell in love with Tickerage at first sight. Her stamp was everywhere: in her utterly feminine blue bedroom and dressing room; her beautifully appointed drawing room with silver-framed photographs of friends; her collection of snuffboxes and Staffordshire and Spode china. But it was in the garden that she found her happiest moments and relaxation. No matter how late she went to bed, she was up at six in the morning, planting or replanting shrubs and flowers”.
Today, Tickerage Mill is decorated more neutrally but the beauty of its setting has been preserved. Of the estate, Honor Hoggins told the New York Times: “There is a fine piece of ancient woodland and the fields and the wildflower meadow are very beautiful, so it would be someone who appreciates the surroundings” when the house was first launched to the market in May 2014.
Tickerage Mill is offered as a whole for £3.25 million ($5.1 million, €4.6 million) or in three lots with the main house and 21.5 acres for £2.3 million ($3.6 million, €3.2 million) by Strutt & Parker.
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